I love Chicago!
I have been there a few times. One night in 2004 I went for a drive with my besty Dana and we ended up at the Shooting Star Casino in North Dakota.
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| Dana and I just driving lol |
We decided to keep going for a beer in Milwaukee We stopped at the Wisconsin Dells for a jetboat ride on the Wisconsin River and the headed on. Once we got there we went on a beer tour and had the best 3 pints of fresh poured Miller brew that I have ever tasted! It was poured directly from the taps of the cave they brew it… it was breakfast.
We heard there was a baseball game that night in Chicago so we went!
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| Dana and I at a Chicago White Sox game |
We drove back to Sheboygan Wisconsin to see if we could rustle up tickets to the PGA Championship the next day but it was already midnight sooo we headed on to Cleveland. We hit up a Indians game, they were actually playing the Jays!!! Then we got our first motel room and had a good sleep. We got up early the next morning and went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It was GREAT! From there we were sooo close we decided to head on to Niagara Falls. We took a tour under the falls and rode a 3D barrel over the falls ride. The Falls are pretty amazing!
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| At Niagara Falls… I was wearing white pants. We got so wet it was “Kristin does Niagara!” |
We drove to Sarnia for pizza with a friend and then through Detroit to see a sign that said 8 Mile lol. I wanted to go to Flint just to say I was there but Dana drew the line lol. We drove to every great lake and had a beer at each one. I remember driving through Chicago at morning rush hour at a snail’s pace. It was agonizing. We were so tired we slept in traffic, yeah super safe lol. Then we went back to the Dells for mini golf and another boat ride. 1 more hotel (our second time sleeping) and then home. We left Wednesday at about 10pm and got home on Sunday by 7pm. It was CRAZY! Ninja had to wire us money in the Dells haha.
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| Mini golfing at the Dells |
In 2005 Ninja and I, with another couple, drove to Chicago for Lollapalooza It was a fabulous weekend. We stayed at the Sofitel, FYI… their dream bed IS truly a dream! We saw a Sox game and an amazing lineup of bands!!!
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| Ninja and I on the Chicago Subway going to a White Sox game |
We saw The Pixies, Tegan and Sara, Ben Kweller, Cake, Primus, The Killers, Weezer, The Dandy Warhols, and even Billy Idol! On the last day it was SO hot. It was apparently 104 degrees in the Millennium Park with no shade in sight.
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| At Lollapalooza listening to Ben Kweller |
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| Getting ready for Weezer |
Between bands we walked to this super cool Speakeasy that had caves under it where Al Capone used to have run booze during prohibition. The bodyguard manning the door, at 4pm?? Told us these amazing historical stories while we ate the BIGGEST Chicago style Deep Dish Pizza I had ever had. It was delicious, I mean memory making. To this day I can still remember the taste… the cheese, the flaky crust the weight of that sucker!
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| Deep Dish Chicago pizza! |
Tonight we are going Chicago style. Speaking of Chicago can you believe the Hawks record?? WTF? I am an Oiler fan but I do love me some Hawks, especially with all those good ol’ Canadian boys on the team. Go Hawks!
Chicago Style Depp Dish Pizza
Adapted from Chew Out Loud
Makes two 9-inch round pizzas
Dough
3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
2 1/4 teaspoon dry active yeast
2 teaspoon white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 1/4 cups room temp water
3 tablespoons melted butter
4 tablespoons softened butter
olive oil
3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
2 1/4 teaspoon dry active yeast
2 teaspoon white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 1/4 cups room temp water
3 tablespoons melted butter
4 tablespoons softened butter
olive oil
Sauce
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes with juices
1/2 teaspoon white sugar
2 tablespoons fresh basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes with juices
1/2 teaspoon white sugar
2 tablespoons fresh basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
Toppings
4 cups Italian cheese mix, shredded
1 lb bacon, browned and crumbled (save 2 tablespoons of fat)
4 cups Italian cheese mix, shredded
1 lb bacon, browned and crumbled (save 2 tablespoons of fat)
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
1 red pepper, diced
Handful of fresh basil
4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Dough
Mix water, sugar and yeast together let sit for 10 minutes or until the top is all bubbly.
In your mixer, mix flour, cornmeal, and salt with your dough hook on low until combined. Add yeast mixture and 3 tablespoons of melted butter and mix 2 minutes.
Increase speed to medium and knead until dough is elasticky and smooth, 4-5 minutes. The dough should pull away from sides of bowl.
Coat large bowl with olive oil and place dough ball in bowl. Turn dough around in the bowl to make sure it is completely oiled. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let rise at room temp until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Heat oven to 425 with rack on lowest position. Turn dough out onto large surface. Roll into 15×12 inch rectangle. Spread 4 tablespoons softened butter evenly over top of dough, leaving 1/2 inch border along edges.
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| Wonky 🙂 |
At the short end, roll dough into a tight cylinder.
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| Probably could have been a bit tighter… HoneyBear’s favorite song right now is Tighten Up by the Black Keys |
With seam side down, flatten cylinder to 18×4 in. rectangle.
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| FLAT |
Slice rectangle in half crosswise. Working with one half at a time, fold dough into thirds and pinch seams together into a dough ball.
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| That looks so good already! |
Return dough balls to oiled bowl, ensure all sides of the dough are oiled, cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let rise in fridge until doubled, 45 min.
Sauce
Sauté minced onion and garlic in 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat until soft. Add rest of sauce ingredients, except for salt & pepper. Bring sauce to simmer and reduce… about 25-30 min. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
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| Simmering |
Coat two 9-inch round cake pans each with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of bacon fat. Roll one ball of dough into a disk, 1/4 in. thick. Transfer to cake pan and gently press into pan, working into corners and up sides. Repeat with other dough ball. (If dough resists stretching, let it sit for 5 min covered and try again.)
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| Don’t over work, just press firmly |
Divide the 4 cups cheese in half and sprinkle on top of each pizza dough. Follow by bacon, mushrooms, peppers and more fresh basil.
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| Mmmmm fresh basil |
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| Cheese first is a must! |
Next, spread 1 1/4 cups tomato sauce per pizza. Lastly, sprinkle 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese per pizza.
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| All ready for the oven |
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| See all that basil? Yum |
Bake until crust is golden brown about 20-25 min. Remove and let sit for 10 min. before serving.
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| It may seem that the crust is doughy when you cut into it… that’s all the Gooey cheese! Just watch the golden brown crust. |
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| Now THAT’S a piece of pie!
This is EXACTLY what I want in a deep dish pizza! It was filling, tangy and had a flaky crust. It’s all the Chicago… without the snow J Now hopefully the Oilers put in a Chicago showing tonight too!
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